The 11'8 windsup felt like it wasn't fully releasing onto plane despite decent but not overpowering conditions with my 8.5m. I chalked it up to the currents and swell.
After the session I noticed that I apparently dagger-boarded a Lake Michigan alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus for James Douglass) into the gasket.

I thought the juxtaposition of the Exocet flying fish logo and my filet-o-fish was humorous.

How do you like the Exocet SUP for Lake Michigan? I live in Oregon (sail in the Gorge), but am originally from Michigan. We go to Lake Michigan every summer for a week or so. I've got a windsurfing board there, but rarely get to use it due to the winds never quite being enough for great windsurfing.

I've been thinking about getting an inflatable SUP to play around in the waves. But a windsup with an 8.5 sail might be an awful lot of fun and get me on the water sailing a lot more.

Questions: how do you like playing in the waves on the exocet in SUP mode?

How do you like sailing it in the typical 8-18mph winds that we usually see on Lake Michigan?

How do you like the Exocet SUP for Lake Michigan? I live in Oregon (sail in the Gorge), but am originally from Michigan. We go to Lake Michigan every summer for a week or so. I've got a windsurfing board there, but rarely get to use it due to the winds never quite being enough for great windsurfing.

I've been thinking about getting an inflatable SUP to play around in the waves. But a windsup with an 8.5 sail might be an awful lot of fun and get me on the water sailing a lot more.

Questions: how do you like playing in the waves on the exocet in SUP mode?

How do you like sailing it in the typical 8-18mph winds that we usually see on Lake Michigan?

We visit Glenn, MI, which is between S. Haven and Saugatuck.

The 11'8 is fantastic for Lake Michigan, especially in the 13-20 mph range. I'm 215 lbs and the Ezzy 8.5 works beautifully with the board, big, fat low-end power and super stable when overpowered. The combo is especially great for bearing off and ripping between and over big swell!
Even with the dagger removed it's easy to get back upwind when winds are 15 or better.
I also find the board turns fairly well for being so big. It's like riding a longboard skateboard. I ride it without straps and love the freedom. I think in terms of speed in these conditions it fares very well, only those with advanced skills would rein superior on a shortboard.
That's the beauty of it, even with modest skills one can venture out to the best wind and waves with confidence.
The other day we had a major shift in wind direction and wound up with nice swell and side off wind, wow, the board was super easy and responsive to turn even with the stock 44cm fin.
I'm not an expert but from what I've seen one would need lots more wind or really mad skills to have more fun on another board.
My friend looked fantastic in Bonaire in near perfect conditions on a 135 ltr freeride. Here, on a similar sized board in typical conditions, he spent more time in the water than riding. Again this is with average skills.
Can't say enough good things about the board. I wish they'd offer the bamboo version in a dagger-less configuration however.

I've SUPed the board in flat conditions, all good, but not in waves. SUP is just not my thing.

I can't imagine sailing Lake Michigan on a board with no footstraps. Are you using a harness? Harness + no straps + long board sounds like a recipe for painful catapults/rag doll crashes in choppy, windy conditions. Have you been out with a smaller sail when the wind was more like 12-25? Does the exocet also handle 6.5 sailing conditions pretty well?

My best times on Lake Michigan were on a 6.4 - 7.5 and a 110 or 130 L board. Are you on the Michigan side? I've always found the sailing on the Michigan side more difficult due to how fast the waves build up, and I always rig about a half-meter more sail than I would use most other places. On the Wisconsin side the waves are smaller and better organized IMHO.

I can't imagine sailing Lake Michigan on a board with no footstraps. Are you using a harness? Harness + no straps + long board sounds like a recipe for painful catapults/rag doll crashes in choppy, windy conditions. Have you been out with a smaller sail when the wind was more like 12-25? Does the exocet also handle 6.5 sailing conditions pretty well?

My best times on Lake Michigan were on a 6.4 - 7.5 and a 110 or 130 L board. Are you on the Michigan side? I've always found the sailing on the Michigan side more difficult due to how fast the waves build up, and I always rig about a half-meter more sail than I would use most other places. On the Wisconsin side the waves are smaller and better organized IMHO.

Wisconsin side. I can't imagine using straps with this board! Finding the perfect foot placement allows for so much freedom. A harness? Yes, of course.
Above 20 mph with the 8.5m things become squirrely for me, but 90% of the time I'm looking at 12-18 mph. That's the point, you can have lots of fun on this board in light winds. The surfy feeling is where it's at for me, seeing the big front half of the board out over swell is a blast. The 8.5m is currently my only sail, yes, one board one sail and I get out more than anyone I know. It's Zen-like in its simplicity. Catapults and crashes? No, and I rip, relative to the conditions.
That said, I'd like to have a 6.5 or 7.0 as my higher wind sail.

May I suggest you also try smaller fins when go for a smaller sail. I use a Kona One, somewhat similar to your WindSUP and I'm your weight. I use a 46 with a 9.0 sail, a 40 or 46 with a 7.5 depending on wind and water state. With a 6.0, it's the 40 or a 28 Onshore-wave. The difference is huge obviously with the 6.0. If lit correctly, I fly on the 40: fast, close to out of control, because of the bonciness, and also because the nose tends to catch the wind. With the 28, I have to go downwind a bit to start planing but the board is then slower, confortable and tamed!

I like footstraps on my 11'8". At the very least, they provide handles to help carry it in and out of the shorebreak without disaster.

For wave/swell conditions and sails < 7.0 I go with the 3-footstrap, centered configuration, with a 30-something freeride fin. (Maui ultra fins 32 cm "no-spin" is my favorite.) Mast base as far back as it goes.

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forumYou can attach files in this forumYou can download files in this forum